Machine for marking or printing mail-matter



(No Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 1.

O. BIOKFORD.

MAGHINE FOR MARKING 0E PRINTING MAIL MATTER.

No. 464,704. Patented Dec. 8, 1891.

in {3, l;

WITNEEISEE- I INVENTEIRQ n4: Noam Pn'zas cnv, mm'n-uTHm, WASNINGTON, u.c

(No Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 2.

0. BIOKPORD. MACHINE FOR MARKING OR PRINTING MAIL MATTER.

No. 464,704. Patented Dec 8, 1891.

7 D R O n K O I B C MAGHINE FOR MARKING 0R PRINTING MAIL MATTER.

No. 464,704. Patented Dec. 8, 1891.

\A/ITNE s 5 E5- Ens cm, mYb-mnm, msumm'un n c 7 Sheets-Sheet 4.

(No Model.)

a. BIG KPORD. MACHINE FOR MARKING 0R PRINTING MAIL MATTER.

No. 464,704. Patented Dec. 8, 1891.

ca, mum-mun msummnu n c (No Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 5.

O. BICKPORD.

MACHINE FOR MARKING OR PRINTING MAIL MATTER.

No. 464,704. Patented Dec. 8, 1891.

WITNELEEEE- lVEI\|TEIR- (No Model.)

-7.She ats-Sheet 6.

O. BIGKPORD.

MACHINE FOB. MARKING 0R PRINTING MAIL MATTER.

Patented Dec. 8, 1891.

Wa 72%;- QR 1 II n. I I l I m "W1 4 i E 4 W 5 4. E 6 4 n a N 0,, imam-mmWASHING 7 Sheets-Sheet 7.

(No Model.)

0, BIGKFORD. MACHINE FOR MARKING 0R PRINTING MAIL MATTER. No. 464,704.

Patented Dec. 8, 1891.

' This invention has for its object to enable machine excepting when apiece of mail-mat- Nrrnn TATEES ATENT Erica.

CHARLES BICKFORD, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MAC HlNE FOR MARKING OR PRINTING MAIL-MATTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 464,704, dated December8, 1891.

Application filed October 17, 1890- To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES BICKFORD, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Machines for Marking or Printing Mail-Matter, of whichthe following is a specification.

letters, postal-cards, and other like pieces of mail-matter to be markedor printed in such manner as to give the piece the usual postmark andstamp-canceling marks, in which the printing or marking mechanism shallbe made operative by the movement of each piece of mail-matter intoposition to be marked, said mechanism remaining inoperative at all othertimes, so that there can be no operation of the ter is in position to beacted on.

The invention consists in the several improvements hereinafter describedrelating to an organized postmarking and canceling machine, or toamachine forprinting any desired marks on detached piecessuch as cards,envelopes, &c.for other purposes than postmarking and canceling-such,for example, as printing names and addresses on envelopes, printingbusiness-cards, &c.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification,Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a post-markingandcance1- ing machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a sectionon line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a section on line 3 3, Fig. 6,looking toward the left in the last-named fig- Fig. 4 represents asection on line 4 4, Fig. 1, and a plan view of the mechanism below saidline. Fig. 5 represents a rear elevation of the machine; and Fig. 6represents a section on line 6 6, Fig. 4, on a larger scale than thelast-named figure. Fig. (5 represents a section like Fig. 6, but showingthe impression-bed moved forward. Fig. 7 represents a section on line 7'7, Fig. 6. Fig. 8 represents a modification. Fig. 9 represents asection on line 9 9, Fig. 4.

The same letters and numerals of reference indicate the same parts inall the figures.

In the drawings, or represents a horizontal bed or table which supportsa pack of pieces I) of'rnail-matter, and is'provided at one end SerialNo. 368,375. (No model.)

with a delivering-slot c, Fig. 1, arranged to permit the letter at oneend of the pack to drop into a guide which is located below the tableand is adapted to guide each piece as it falls from the table at untilsaid piece strikes a tilting-table 23 below the guide and by its weightmoves said table and sets in operation the mechanism which prints thepostmarking and canceling characters on the piece and feeds the pieceendwise to the packing mech anism, all as hereinafter described. The

guide dis here shown as composed of two ver 7 tical plates 10 10, theupper portions of which are curved outwardly, as shown in Figs. 1 and:

6, and attached by any suitable means to the-v supporting-frame of themachine, said curved portions forming an enlarged mouth-or ,en--.-'trance to the vertical space between said in passing along thedescending side of the course of the belt, project through slots 2 2',Fig. 2, in a vertical plate j, which is ar ranged at one end of thetable a, said teeth projecting through the plate j just far enough toengage the upper edge of the piece b at' the inner end of the pack onthe table a and force said piece downwardly into the guide 01.

The pack of pieces is pressed toward the platej by means of a slidingfollower it, im-' pelled by any suitable meansas, for exam- Saidseparator is composed of pie, by a weight Z, attached to a cord m, one

end of which is secured to a lug n on the follower k, said cord passingover pulleys 0 0 plate j is provided with an ear or lug p, which issecured by a screw q to a vertical wall a at one edge of the table a,Fig. 2, said earhaving a slot which receives the screw q, so that theplatej may be adjusted to vary the project-ion of the teeth It throughthe slots in the plate j, and thus adapt said teeth to letters andpieces of different thickness. belt f is impelled in the directionindicated 9 below the table a, as indicated in Fig. 1. The

The

loo

by the arrow in Fig. 1 by power applied to I the lower pulley g, whichsupports it, through a shaft 0*, having a bevel-gear s, meshing with abevel-gear t on said pulley, the shaft 0" being driven by connectionswith the main driving-shaft of the machine, as presently described. Thepulleys g g are j ournaled in bearings suitably a'liixed to thesupportingframe of the machine.

it represents a vertical shaft which is journaled in -fiXed bearings inthe supportingframe of the machine and is provided with a head orcarrier 1;, on the periphery of which are mounted the forms or printingcharacters which apply to the pieces b the desired post and cancelingmarks. One of the said forms or printing characters 10 is shown insection in Fig. 6. The head or carrier '0 is located so that theprinting-form w thereon is caused by the rotation of the shaft to toproject through an opening in one side of the guide (Z, as shown in Fig.6, once during each rotation of the shaft u, and thus effect animpression upon a piece 1) within the guide, said piece being supportedby a rotating bed 00, formed on a head m, which is affixed to a shaft y,located at the opposite side of the guide (1 from the shaft 10. Theshaft is journaled in bearings z z in a slide or carriage .2, which isadapted to movehorizontally in fixed guides .2 .2 Figs. 2, 6, and 7, onthe supporting-frame, said carriage and the shaft y being movable towardand from the shaft u to bring the segmental impression-bed 0c, aflixedto the shaft y, into contact with a piece of mail-matter that has beendeposited between the two shafts and press said piece against theprinting-form w on the shaft to. The shaft 20 is provided with aneccentric 12, which is engaged with one end of a connecting-rod 13,

the other end of which is provided with an elongated slot or opening 14,through which the shaft 1 passes, as shown in Fig. 7, the shaft beinginclosed within said slot by a loose sleeve 15, which bears on the sidesof the slot and turns with the oscillating movements of theconnecting-rod. The slot 14 is considerably longer than the width of thesleeve 15, and is of such length that the reciprocating movements of theconnecting-rod 13, caused by the rotation of the shafts a, have noeffect upon the shaft y and carriage 2 until a plug or key 16 is forcedinto one end of the slot 14 by mechanism set in operation by the descentof each piece b of mail-matter, as hereinafter described, theslot 14being shortened, it were, by the thickness of the plug 16, so that thereciprocating movements of the connecting-rod are imparted to the shaft'yduring the time that the plug 16 remains in the slot 14. Theplug 16 isadapted to slide vertically between guides 15 on the sleeve 15, Figs. 3,(5, and 7, and is pivoted at 17 to one end of a lever 18, which ispivoted at 19 to an ear 20 on the connecting-rod.

21 represents a plunger adapted to slide vertically in a socket in theconnecting-rod 13 and connected to the lever 18 at its lower end by apin 22.

23 represents a tilting table, which is hung or pivoted at 24: tosupports 24: on theframe of the machine and is nearly counterbalanced bya Weight 25, said weight being slightly heavier than the table, so thatthe swinging end of the table is normally slightly elevated, but isadapted to be depressed by the weight of the lightest piece of mailmatter. The swinging end of the tableis under the guide d and below theprinting-form and impression-bed, its location being such that when apiece of mail-matter has entered the guide and reached a positionbetween the printingform and the impression-bed it will strike theswinging end of the table 23 and slightly depress the latter.

26 represents a light finger, which is pivoted at 26, Fig. 5, to an caron the table 23, and is normally held against the under side of saidtable by a spring 34, said finger moving with the table and beingadapted also to move downward independently of the table. The finger 26is arranged so that the depression of the table 23 will bring theswinging end of said finger into the path of rotation of an inclined orcam-shaped rib 27 on the shaft u, so that the inclined or cam-shapedunder side of said rib will engage the finger 26 and press the latterdownwardly upon the plunger 21. Said plunger is thus depressed andcaused to in1part,through the lever 18, an upward movement to the plug16 and insert said plug in the slot 14 in the connecting-rod 13.

The arrangement and timing of the described mechanism is such that theplug is inserted in the slot 14 when the connectingrod is at the endofits throw. (Shown in Fig. 6.) The insertion of the plug into the slot 14causes' the connecting-rod in moving from the position shown in Fig. 6to move the'shaft y and the impression-bed 0c thereon to the p0sitionshown in Fig. 6, so that the impressionbed is caused to press the pieceof mail-matter against the printing-form w and at the same timeco-operate with said form in moving the piece endwise to a packingdevice, both the printing-form and the impressionbed being continuouslyrotated, as presently described. The return movement of theconnecting-rod back to the position shown in Fig. 6 causes it to movethe shaft y away from the shaft 'Lb, the plug 16 being at the same timereleased from the grip, which during the opposite movement of theconnecting-rod held it between the sleeve 15 and the end of the slot 14,so that during said return movement the plug drops from the slot 14, itsdownward movement being accelerated by a spring 35, Figs. 6 and 6. Thedescent of the plug makes the connecting-rod once more loose, so that itreciprocates idly without moving the shaft y until the next piece ofmail-matter strikes the table 23, when the above-described operation isrepeated. It will therefore be seen that there is no operation of theprinting mechanism until a piece of mail-matter is in position to beprinted and that, after one printing opconnecting-rod. Said block 38 isin effect one oration the printing mechanism cannot operate. untilanother piece reaches said position.

To enable the impression-bed to adapt itself to the thickness of thedifferent pieces of mail matter, I make the connecting rod slightly,elastic or capable of yielding, so that a piece of maximum thicknesswill not receive too great pressure between the form and bed. To thisendl provide oneend of the connecting-rod with abox 36, containing aspring 37, which presses a block or plunger 38 against the plug 16 whenthe latter is-inserted in the end of the slot 14, and is enabled by thespring 37 to yield and thus permit the arrest of the lateral movement ofthe shaft 3 by the contact of the impression-bed with a piece ofmail-matter when the connecting-rod is carrying the impression-bedtoward the printingform before the completion of the throw or movementof the connecting-rod. As before stated, the shafts u y are continuouslyr0- tated, so that whenever the impression-bed 00 on the shaft y isbrought forward and presses a piece of mail-matter against theprintingform said bed and form serve also as feeding devices to move theletter or piece endwise away from the position it occupied when firstdropped onto the tilting table 23. The rotation of said shafts maybeeffected in any suitable way. I prefer to impart power to the shaft uandimpart the same to the shaft 3 through the intermediate gears 28 and 29,the former meshing with a gear 30 on the shaft u and the latter with agear 31 on the shaft y. The shaft r, which imparts motion to the lowerpulley g of the belt or separator f, is provided with agear 32, meshingwith the intermediate gear 29.

The pieces of mail-matter are moved by the described feeding action ofthe impressionbed and printing-form to a packing device,

. which consists of a series of vertical rows of guide cl and inposition to receive a piece of mail-matter emerging therefrom at eachoperation of the impression-bed and type-form. The shaft or hub 41 isprovided with a horizontal disk 42 below the said pockets, said .diskconstituting a bottom for the pockets and supporting the pieces ofmail-matter therein. The step-by-steprotation of the shaft or hub 41causes thearms to move.

the pieces laterally in a curved path onto a table, which is preferablyan endless apron 43, supported by loose rolls 44 44, the upper port-ionof said apron being just below the disk 42 and extending outwardlytherefrom substantially at right anglesv to. the

guided. To said apron is affixed a vertical bracket 45, having a seriesof horizontal arms.

46, which project between the packer-arms 4O, said arms 46 collectivelyfurnishing-a vertical support against which the pieces of mailmatter arepressed by the movement of the arms 40, said movement being in thedirection indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4. A ver- -tical wall or guide47, extending along one edge of the apron 43, projects through the arms40, as shown in Figs. 4 and 9, its inner end being slotted to formfingers 48, Fig. 9,

alternating with the members of the rows of arms 40,. said fingersarresting the movement of the letters in the direction of the circularaccumulated on the apron 43, said apron moving to permit the bracket toyield to the accumulation of letters. A pack of letters is thus formedon the apron 43, and said letters may be removed from time to time, asocca sion may require. The letters are kept in place on the apron by thebracket 45 at one side of the pack, the wall 47 at one end of the pack,and another wall 49, extending along the edge of the apron oppositethewall 47. The bracket 45 is yieldingly impelled or drawn toward thepacking device by means of a weight A, connected by a cord B to thebracket, said cord running over a pulley O, as shown in Fig. 9. A springmay be arranged to perform this function instead of a weight, it beingdesirable to give the bracket at all times TOO a yielding pressure onthe mail-matter moved against it by the packing device.

To prevent the band or apron from moving far enough to allow the bracketto pass over the outer drum 44, and thus permit the escape of letters atthe outer end of the pack, I provide the apron with adownwardly-projecting arm D, Fig. 9, which is arranged'under the bracketand strikes the outer drum 44 when the bracket reaches a position oversaid drum, thus arresting the outward movement of the bracket.

The preferred means for rotating the hub or shaft 41 and itspacking-arms are asfollows: A ratchet 50 is affixed to said hub or shaftbelow the packer and is. engaged by a pawl 51, which is mounted on theswinging end of a lever 52. Said lever is pivoted at 53, to a fixedsupport, and has a slot 55, Fig.4, which receives a pin 54, Figs. 4, 6,and 6, affixed to the slide or carriage z, in which the impression-bedsupporting shaft is journaled. The movements of said carriage, caused asabove described, oscillatethe lever 52 and cause it, through the pawl 51and ratchet 50, I

ter or piecev moved out by the action of the printing-form and be dfinds'a pocket in the packing device ready toreceive it. The backwardmovement of the packing device during the backward movement of the pawl51 is prevented by a retaining-pawl 56, Fig. 4.

57 represents a fixed casing located above the packing device andsupported by a fixed standard or bearin g 5 8, Fig. 5, passing throughthe hub 41. Said casing contains a train of gears 63, Fig. 5, the arborsof which project through the top of the casing and are provided withpointers or indicators 59, which rotate over dials 60 on the top of thecasing. One of the said arbors projects downwardly below the casing andis provided with arms 61, which have downwardly-projecting pallets 62,which are arranged to be struck by upwardly-projecting pins 63 on thepacking device. Each pin 63 in passing a given point strikes one of thepins 62 and gives a partial rotation to the arbor with which the pins 62are connected. The gears 63 are formed so that the total number ofmovements of the packer will be indicated by the pointers 59 and theaccompanying dials, the number of pieces passing through the machinebeing thus automatically counted.

The printing-form w is inked by means of an inking-roll 64, journaled onone end of a lever 65, which is pivoted at 66 to a fixed support and isnormally held by a spring 67 in position to ink the printing-form. It isnot desirable, however, to ink the form'when the latter is revolvingidly without printing. Hence I provide means for automatically holdingthe roll out of its operative position,

so that it will not bear on the revolving form,

excepting when the latter is about to effect an impression on a piece ofmail-matter. To this end I provide. the lever with an incline 69, whichis acted on by a pin 68 on the lever 52. The contact of the pin withsaid incline when the impression-bed is in its retracted position holdsthe lever 65 in such position that the inking-roll cannot bear on theform; but when the impression-bed is moved toward the form thecorresponding movement of the lever 52 causes the pin 68 to permit thelever 65 to be moved by the spring 67 into the position required tobring the inking-roll into contact with the form.

The printing-form is preferably made slightly eccentric, its endsprojecting farther from the center of the shaft it than its centralportion. This peculiarity of form compensates for the changes in theposition of the impression-bed caused by the movements thereof towardand from the printingform, the bed moving slightly toward the form atthe commencement of the printing operation and slightly away from theform during the closing part of the same. The eccentric shape of theprinting-form enables it to make a uniform impression on the papersupported by the alternately advancing and retreating bed. Theimpression-bed may be made eccentric for the same purpose, and, ifdesired, both the bed and printing-form may be made eccentric, it beingmy belief that the latter arrangement will produce the best results.

The operation of the machine above described is substantially automatic,the only attention required from the operator being to place the piecesI) in position on the table a and to remove them from the apron 43. Itis obvious, however, that the automatic separator shown in Figs. 1, 2,and 5 may be dispensed with and the letters separated from the pack anddropped into the guide (I by hand. WVhen this is done, I prefer toprovide an automatic stop 70, Figs. 6'and 6, whichis pivoted at 71 to ancar on one of the side pieces of guide d, and is normally forced by aspring 72 through a slot 73 in said side piece, as shown in Fig.6, sothat it holds each piece of mail in the proper position for the actionof the printing devices. On the upper side of the head or piece on whichthe impression-bed is formed is a rib-or cam 74, which is arranged tostrike the stop and withdraw the same from the guide, as shown in Fig.6, in time to permit a piece b, which has previously been arrested bythe stop 70, to be moved forward by the printing devices.

75 represents a pin or stud attached to and projecting upwardly from thetilting table 23, the upper end of said stud being above the guidedandin such position that the operator can by pressing downwardly uponit depress the said table in case a piece of mail-matter dropped thereonis too light to depress the table.

a? represents a projection or counterbalance for the impression-bed,said projection being on the opposite side of the shaft y from said bed.

Itis obvious that various modifications may be made in the constructionand arrangement of the devices and parts of the machine above describedwithout departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, insteadof employing the tilting table 23, I may use a fixed table 76, having aslot through which extends a projection 77 on a finger 78, said fingerbeing pivoted at 79 and pressed upwardly bya spring 80, so that theprojection 77 normally stands above the table 76. The weight of thefalling letter strikes the projection 77 and depresses the latter andthe finger 78, the latter being brought within the path of the cam 27and caused thereby to depress the plunger 21.

The machine may be used for printing busi-- ness-cards, addresses onenvelopes, Ave, instead of postmarking mail-matter.

It will be obvious that the positions of the printing-form and theimpression-bed may be reversed, the form being applied to the shaft yand the bed to the shaft it, without affecting the essential principleof the invention, although in such case a different inking mechanismfrom that shown in the drawings would necessarily be employed.

For the sake of convenience I have hereinafter referred to theprinting-form and its Ioo carrier and the impression-bed and its carrieras printing members.

The pressure of the spring 37, which permits the yielding of theimpression-bed when the latter is in contact with the piece to bemarked, may be regulated by means of a screw-cap 36, which is screwedupon the box 36 and supports the outer end of the spring, said cap beingadjustable to compress or relax the spring, as the case may be.

It will be observed that the slotted vertical plate j, which supportsthe forward end of the pack of letters on the table (6 and receives inits slots the teeth h of the separator, being adj ustably secured to thewall a of the table a, as above described, enables the teeth orprojections h of the separator to project to a greater or less extentfrom the supportingface of the plate j, and thus adapts said teeth toletters or pieces of different thickness, so that when running a pack ofpieces of a given thickness the plate j may be adjusted to give theteeth a projection suitable for the thickness of said pieces, and whenrunning thicker or thinner pieces the plate may be adjusted to give theteeth a greater or less projection.

The slot 0 is made adjustable to the thickness of the pieces ofmail-matter, so that there will be no liability of two or more thinpieces being carried down at once. To this end I provide the table awith an adjustable slide a adapted to be moved to increase or decreasethe width of the slot 0.

I claim- 1. The combination of two co operating printing members, one ofwhich is a printingform and the other an impression-bed, one of saidmembers being movable toward and from the other, a vertically-movabletable or arm adapted to be depressed by the gravity of a piece ofmail-matter between said members, a guide or opening to permit thedescent of a letter upon said table or arm, and mechanism which is madeoperative by the depression of said table or arm to move the saidmovable member toward the other to effect an impression of the form onthe said piece,-

as set forth.

2. The combination of two 00 operating printing members, one of which isa rotary printing-form and the other a rotary impression-b.ed,one ofsaid members being laterally movable toward and from the other,mechanism for rotating said members simultaneously, a vertically-movabletable or arm adapted to be depressed by the gravity of a piece'of mailor other matter between said form and bed, a guide or opening to permitthe descent of a letter upon said table'or arm, and mechanism madeoperative by the depression of said table or arm to move the saidmovable rotating member toward the other member to cause the printingand removal of the said piece, as set forth.

' 3. The combination-of two cooperating rotary printing members, shaftssupporting the same, gearing connecting said shafts, whereby the membersare simultaneously rotated, a slide or carriage supporting one of saidshaftsand movable'toward and from the other shaft, normally-inoperativeconnections between the last-mentioned shaft and the car- 'of saidmembers and provided with an eccentric and with a cam-shaped rib orflange, a slide or carriage movable toward and from said shaft andcarrying the shaft that sup ports the other member, a connecting-rodengaged at one end with said eccentric and formed to play loosely atitsother end on the shaft in said carriage, a movable table or armadapted to be depressed by a piece of mail or other matter between saidmembers and thereby be engaged and further moved by the said cam-shapedrib or flange, and devices operated by the movement of the table or armwhereby the connecting-rod is operatively engaged with the carriage andcaused to move the latter and the printing member thereon toward andfrom the otherprinting member, as set-forth.

5. The movable slide or carriage, the shaft journaled therein, thepowerdriven shaft journaled in fixed bearings and provided with aneccentric, the printing members on said shafts, and the connecting-rodengaged at one end with said eccentric and provided at the other endwithan elongated slot, which normally plays loosely on the shaft in thecarriage, combined with the movable plug adapt ed to enter said slot tooperatively engage the connecting-rod with the carriage, and devicesoperated by the entrance of a letter between the printing members,whereby said plug is inserted in the slot, as set forth.

6. The movable slide or carriage, the shaft journaled therein, the powerdriven shaft j ournaled in fixed bearings and provided with aneccentric, the printing members on .said shafts, and the connecting-rodengaged at one end with said eccentric and provided at the other endwith an elongated slot which normally plays loosely on the shaft 7 inthe carriage, combined with the movable plug adapt-' entrance of aletter between the printing members, and a cam-shaped rib or flange onthe power-driven shaft adapted to act on said arm when the latter hasbeen depressed and through the arm,plunger, andlever raise the plug toits operative position, as set forth.

7. The combination of the slide or carriage, the shaft j ournaledtherein and provided with a printing member, the loose sleeve on saidshaft within the carriage, the powerdriven shaft journaled in fixedbearings, an eccentric on the last-named shaft, the connecting-rodengaged with said eccentric and provided with an elongated slot adaptedto play loosely on the sleeve in the carriage, a plug adapted to move onguides on said sleeve into and out of the slot in the connecting-rod,and means, substantially as described, whereby the plug is moved intosaid slot upon the entrance of a letter between said printing members,as set forth.

8. The rotary printing members, their supporting-shafts, the movablecarriage supporting one of said shafts, the other shaft being in fixedbearings, an eccentric on the lastnamed shaft, the connecting-rodengaged at one end with said eccentric and adapted to play loosely onthe movable shaft, and the plug adapted to operatively engage said rodwith the movable shaft, so that its movements will move said shaftlaterally, combined with a spring in the connecting-rod, whereby themovable shaft and its printing member are adapted to yield and conformto different thicknesses interposed between the printing members, as setforth.

9. The rotary printing members, their supporting-shafts, the movablecarriage supporting one of said shafts, the other shaft being in fixedbearings, the connecting-rod engaged at one end with an eccentric on.the shaft in fixed bearings and adapted to play loosely on the movableshaft, and the plug adapted to operatively engage said rod with themovable shaft, so that its movements will move said shaft laterally,combined With a spring in the connecting-rod, whereby the movable shaftand its printing member are adapted to yield and conform to differentthicknesses interposed between the printing members, a movable block orplunger interposed between said spring and the point in saidslotoccnpied by the plug, and means, substantially as described, foradjusting the pressure of said spring, as set forth.

10. The combination of the rotary printing members and theirsupporting-shafts, one of said shafts being laterally movable and theother journaled in fixed bearings and provided with an eccentric andwith a cam-shaped rib, the connecting-rod engaged with said eccentricand provided with a slot adapted to play loosely on the movable shaft,the plug adapted to enter said slot and engage the connecting-rod withthe movable shaft, the pivoted table arranged to be depressed by theentrance of a letter between the printing members, the finger pivoted tosaid table and adapted to be depressed with and independently of thelatter, said finger being brought by the depression of the table intoengagement with the said cam-shaped rib and independently moved by saidrib, the plunger in the connecting-rod arranged to be depressed by theindependent movement of said finger, and the pivoted lever connectingsaid plunger with the plug, as set forth.

11. The combination of the pack-supporting table having adelivering-slot, a separating device composed of a belt arranged to rundownwardly across one end of the said table and providedwithletter-engaging teeth or projections adapted to separate theforemost letter or piece from the pack and force it through thedelivering-slot,a vertical plate interposed between the separator andthe pack and provided with slots to receive the letter-engaging teeth orprojections, and means for adjusting said plate to accommodate the saidteeth or projections to the thickness of the letters or pieces, as setforth.

12. The combination, with the packsupporting table having adelivering-slot, of the adjustable slotted plate, the separator havingteeth projecting through said plate, and means for adjusting the widthof the said slot, as set forth.

13. The improved packing device composed of a vertical hub or shaft anda series of ver-.

tical rows of tangential arms on said hub separated by letter-receivingpockets, and a se-.

ries of fixed fingers projecting into the spaces between the arms toforce the letters from said pockets, as set forth.

14:. The combination of a guide, printingmembers arranged to act on aletter in the guide, a packing device at one end of said guide, composedof a vertical rotary shaft or hub, tangential arms extendinghorizontally from said hub, the spaces between said arms constitutingpockets, and a series of livering mechanism and a guide, of a rotarypacking device composed of a hub or shaft and tangential arms arrangedin a series of vertical rows, means for rotating said packing devicestep by step,a table or support arranged to receive the letters from thepacking device, and a guiding-wall beside said table terminating in aseries of fingers which project across one sideof the packing deviceandoperate to force the letters out of the pockets of the packing deviceonto the table or support, as set forth.

17. The combination, with printing and de- IOC ' the spaces between thearms of the packing device, as set forth.

18. The combination, with the packing device composed of a rotary shaftor hub and a series of rows of tangential arms thereon separated byletter-receiving pockets, of the band or apron supported by loose rollsin position to receive the letters from the packing device, theletter-supporting bracket on said band, and the guiding-walls atopposite edges of said band, as set forth.

19. The combination of the rotary printing members, a movable slide orcarriage supporting the shaft of one of'said members, mechanism whichoperates to reciprocate said slide upon the entrance of a letter betweenthe printing members, whereby said members are caused to co-operate inprinting and ejecting a letter, a rotary packing device composed of ahub or shaft and arms projecting therefrom, the spaces between said armsconstituting pockets adapted to receive the letters or pieces ejectedbythe printing members, and connections between said packing device andthe slide or carriage whereby each movement of said carriage in onedirection is caused to partly rotate the packing device, as set forth.

20. The combination of the rotary printing members, a movable slide orcarriage supporting the shaft of one of said members, mechanism whichoperates to reciprocate said slide upon the entrance of a letter betweenthe printing members, whereby said members are caused to co-operate inprinting and ej ectiug a letter, a rotary packing device composed of ahub or shaft and arms projecting therefrom, a ratchet afiixed to saidhub or shaft, a lever pivoted to a fixed support and having at itsswinging end a pawl engaging said ratchet; and a connection between saidanother rotary member mounted in fixed bearings, one or both of saidmembers being eccentric in form to compensate for said lateral movement,as set forth.

22. The combination, with the rotary printing-form, the rotaryimpression-bed, a carrier rier and bed toward and from the printingform,of an inking-roll normally in position to ink said form, and connectionsbetween the inking-roll and the carrier of the impressionbed wherebysaid roll is displaced and prevented from inking the form when theimpression-bed is retracted from the printingform, as set forth.

23. Thecombinationofthetwoparallelshafts having the printing members, amovable slide or carriage supporting one of said shafts, the other shaftbeing power-driven and j ournaled in fixed bearings,a system of gearingincluding gears affixed to said shafts and suitable intermediate gearswhereby rotary movement may be continuously imparted from thepower-driven shaft to' the movable shaft, a connecting-rod engaged atone end with an eccentric on the power-driven shaft and having a slotadapted to play loosely on the movable shaft, a plug adapted to beinserted in said slot to operatively engage the connecting-rod with themovable shaft, and mechanism operated by the entrance of a letterbetween the printing members to insert the plug in the slot in theconnecting-rod, as set forth.

24. The combination,with the rotary pack ing device, of thepack-receiving belt or apron having a pack-supporting bracket, the rollsor drums supporting said apron, and means forpressing said bracketyieldingly toward the packing device, as set forth.

25. The combination, with the rotary packing device, of thepack-receivin gbelt or apron having a pack-supporting bracket, the rollsor drums supporting said apron,and aweight and cord arranged to pull thebracket toward the packing device, as set forth.

26. The combination, with the rotarypack in g device, of thepack-receiving belt or apron having an upwardly-projecting bracket, therolls or drums supporting said apron, and an arm projecting downwardlyfrom the belt between said rolls, as set forth.

In testimony whereof -I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 2d day of October, A. D.1890.

CHARLES BIOKFORD.

Witnesses: I O. F. BROWN, A. D. HARRISON.

therefor, and means for moving the said car-

